Monthly Archives: May 2012

Building a customer driven organization is an inward journey through the following steps, with each step being a building block it is critical to ensure these are imbibed well in each individual of the organization:

Establishing direction and alignment

Strengthening the internal service chain

Building quality culture

Motivating and rewarding people

Attracting & retaining people

Customer satisfaction measurement & management

Voice of the customer

Improving customer satisfaction

Innovating new products & services

Measuring business excellence

Customer focus does not happen by itself………Most important role in establishing the customer focus in any organization is that of the top leadership.

The leaders of the organization must provide clear direction to align the entire organization with regards to the expectations of the customers.

Key Pillars of Service

To implement, deliver and embed the vision, these pillars should be firmly grounded in an organization to ensure that “Processes” run and not the “People”

People “Make the Difference”

Processes that “Work”

Customer “Focused” approach

Technology as an “Enabler”

Partners are a “Key Support”

Service Guarantee the “Bottom line”

We have touched upon the critical aspects of service, each of these when implemented in a synchronized manner, ensure synergistic outcomes which not only ensure better focus for the Service Provider, but also delivers the much needed “Brand Promise” to the Customers.

I write this article as a complete novice to the medical profession, however, life has given me ample opportunities to be on the other side of the table, yes, as a recipient of the medical services. I have been to a clinic, a nursing home, a big hospital, a super speciality hospital, a pathology lab and of course not to miss my good old neighbourhood medical store.

Right from my childhood I hated visiting the doctor for the dreaded needle and syringe threat that I used to get for not taking medicines when ill (and sometimes was threatened when I didn’t do my home work!). I distinctly remember my first “positive” impression about a doctor came while watching the old black & white classic “Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani”, aired on Doordarshan when I was in my third standard. While I felt very soft at heart when the movie ended, I could not understand at that age, why did Dr. Kotnis not care about himself if he was a doctor? Why he had to die? Why didn’t he take rest? Why did he go in the toxic rain? Infact little did I realise that it was my first encounter with the concept of “Care Beyond Cure”.

I am firm believer in The Power of Care, which all living beings have and especially that human beings can generate for every other living being on earth, and I don’t believe that any medical professional can be successful without having the human values of empathy, love, care, trust & faith. And contrary to most of the people I know, I believe that medical profession is not just about just making money, while many may perceive it so. Much more than how an engineer feels when a beam cracks, how an artist feels when the act is not applauded, how a cook feels when a dish is not appreciated, a doctor feels more miserable to see the patient not recovering.

Today, with all the world’s technology & advancement at hand can we actually say that healthcare has little left to achieve? – The obvious answer is a “NO”.

In fact the need of the hour is to reach out to people not only to cure but to “Cure with Care”. Many big organizations are attempting to do this and have achieved some success, but that kind of service is still out of bounds of an average common man in terms of affordability.

All patients must have some basic access to care. This includes being adequately informed about the diagnosis, the options that are available for treatment, financials and options of that aspect. Equally important, those accompanying a patient to care for him/her must be given information, comforts and access to easy dealing with the multiple healthcare professionals & administrative staff that needs to be coordinated with. So what should be done?

The time is just ripe to build a “Customer Service” blueprint for healthcare. This will not only help in guarantee minimum service, but will also lay the foundation for further development.

Yes, I am talking about “Customer Relationship Management” (CRM). And given today’s scenario CRM should not get reduced to a fancy three letter acronym which is a “Must Have” department for every organization, but in fact CRM should be a strategic initiative by an organization.

What is CRM?

CRM is the business strategy which ensures:

Maximum return on spend per customer

Reduced customer acquisition costs

Motivates customer to be a brand ambassador

While the above definition may sound more “Business Like” and not “Service Like”, but it is extremely important to have self sustainable model, only then it is possible to effect the cultural changes over the period of time.

What does a customer want?

Customer expectations can be divided into two levels:

Level I – The Basics:

A human interface & empathetic handling

Quick response to a query

Clear service standards & guarantees for all services provided

Convenience to contact & speed of access

Standardized customer service from anyone in the organization regardless of roles

24/7 access to information & emergency services

Single contact & reliable resolution

Guaranteed quality and reliability of all information provided

Level II – The Delighters:

An economical package & fair pricing

Proactive & up-to-date information on progress

Front line empowered to make decisions

Partnership with and gateway to other services like TPA, Medical Store, Pathology etc.

Open and fair handling of complaints with agreed remedies

Instant access for all possible facilities

Speedy & single window handling of all administrative coordination

Just like the medical standards & accreditation, there should be “Service Standards” and “Service Accreditations” for medical institutions also. Hotels are accredited for their service then why not Healthcare? This will not only help deliver better service to the patients but also induce healthy competition and optimize customer expectations.

Here’s the upfront admission. As a “consultant” I’m bound to answer with a resounding YES!

But on serious reflection – yes, it does help. Why?

Added bandwidth

Independent view – no ‘babying’ of internal challenges or ‘parenting’ in house policies

Lack of agenda – no internal bias or restraint

Added perspective – assuming the ‘outsider’ is an expert with plenty of exposure

No competing ‘to dos’ on the list – typically the internal team carries the baggage of many jostling priorities

However – always ensure that the ‘outsider’ is tuned to your organization

Values & key focus areas

A clear & focused brief

Plans that are WIP, to prevent them from ‘reinventing’ the wheel

Agreement on intent

PS : If I didn’t believe that an outsider expert view is of immense value, when used in a relevant context, I’d have never dared to cross over from the “corporate” to “consultant” tag! I rest my case 🙂

As your organization’s Service Leader, why would you bring in outsiders to ‘act’ as your customers & critique aspects of your service? If you are indeed focussed on Servicing & adding Value to the Relationship that exists between your customers & you, you would know that :

When location, pricing and product range are not unique, service is key differentiation

It costs much more to get a new customer than to keep an existing one

One unhappy customer will tell 5 other people of their bad experience with service

Four of five unhappy customers leave their service provider

There are business benefits to providing a consistent & outstanding customer experience.

Can you afford a bad service experience, knowing that 4 our 5 customers who have a bad service experience will tell others about it. Others may switch service providers without even giving a chance to rectify the issue.

So how can a service provider (telecom, retail, healthcare, BPO, bank, insurer, or investment firm) demonstrate commitment to customers and continue to win their trust?

By consistently inspecting what you to offer, will help improve service delivery while firmly establishing you as a service provider of choice, a trustworthy partner. Positive engagement will also ensure enhanced usage,opportunity to cross sell & improved retention.

Where do we fit in?

We create customized programs that provide actionable insights to the management They also motivate and enthuse teams to excel in delivering service. Net impact is higher customer & employee retention with increase customer advocacy.

What differentiates our Mystery Shopping Programs?Customized Program – At RAG Scores a Mystery Shopping Program is far more than the typical “Tick Box” activity by going into the detail of what really affects your customers’ experience. As our guiding principle is that the best feedback comes from genuine consumers in a real-time situation only.

Detailed Report – After every mystery visit each location will receive a detailed, yet easy to understand report, which identifies what you are doing well and where the opportunities lie to improve.

Improve the bottom line – Our mystery shopping programs identify the key touch-points in the customers’ journey that will improve sales, customer advocacy and ultimately profit.

Our reporting system, RAG Track, ensures that you have a real-time pulse of the findings. Unique advantages include:

Objective Measurement – With national coverage, our team of auditors provide independent measurement and the flexibility to rapidly implement campaigns at short notice.

Data Capture near Real Time – You will receive live reports about your campaign as it happens. Photographic evidence and signatures can also be captured and stored online.

Critical Focus Alerts – With observations available near real-time, our RAG ALERTS function, updates the key person responsible in your organization, so any in-store issues are rapidly dealt with and also highlight any issues in the supply chain.

Analysis & Insight – Both during and after the campaign you will have access to report providing you with full analysis and insight highlighting the successes and where improvements can be made in the future